Time to Be Ruthless: Liverpool Look Sharper Without Florian Wirtz
Friday night at Portman Road delivered Liverpool’s first win of the 2026/27 Premier League season — a brisk, businesslike 2-0 — and it came courtesy of Alexander Isak rediscovering his killer’s instinct. Two ruthless finishes inside 12 minutes from the club’s record buy settled the nerves and kept Andoni Iraola’s unbeaten start intact. Yet the headline after the final whistle wasn’t the scoreline; it was the shape of this side and whether Florian Wirtz belongs in it right now. On current evidence, Liverpool look a slicker, more balanced outfit if Iraola leaves Wirtz out.
Isak purrs, Liverpool pounce
This was the Isak Liverpool thought they were buying: movement on the shoulder, ice-cold in the area, and a confidence that spread through the XI. When your No.9 is humming, the rest of the machine can whirr along — and it did. The press looked coordinated, the counters snappy, and the back line rarely flustered by newly-promoted Ipswich.
The Wirtz problem — and the cold, hard numbers
The uncomfortable truth is that Wirtz was along for the ride. For long spells he slowed Liverpool rather than speeding them up. Per Sofascore’s data, he coughed up possession 22 times across the 90, hit just 82% of his passes, and failed to land a single accurate cross. He won only 4 of 13 ground duels, had seven heavy/unsuccessful touches, and managed a 60% success rate on dribbles (3 of 5). The Express handed him a 5/10, and you can see why. A year on from a stuttering debut campaign — five goals and three assists in 33 league outings — this was meant to be the reset. It isn’t.
Carragher’s caution: stop the shoehorning
Jamie Carragher summed up the growing concern on Monday Night Football: the old idea that some players simply “need a year” feels like a cop-out, and he doesn’t see a natural slot for Wirtz in Iraola’s system. If you park him as a pure No.10, you squeeze others out of position; if you tuck him in off the left, you blunt the width and energy Iraola craves from his wingers. Carragher’s broader point? Wirtz is tidy, yes — but not the £110m-level force Liverpool banked on.
The fix is obvious: Szoboszlai back at No.10
For my money, Iraola has to rip the plaster off now. Put Dominik Szoboszlai back where he was at his devastating best last season — central, high, and aggressive as a true No.10 — with Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch knitting and snapping behind him. That triangle offers balance: creativity, bite, and legs. Crucially, it also restores the high-tempo width Iraola wants, freeing the wingers to run channels while Szoboszlai links with Isak between the lines.
We’ve seen a version of this shape deliver the title less than two years ago. Why drift from a winning blueprint to accommodate a square peg? If Wirtz is to play, let him earn it off the bench, against tired legs, in games that suit his rhythm. If not, thank you very much, but the shirt goes to someone who moves the needle now.
What next?
Liverpool’s task is to turn a steady unbeaten start into momentum. Keep Isak fit, restore Szoboszlai’s authority, and the goals — and control — will follow. Punters weighing up the form can find value across the best betting sites, but the football logic is simple: pick the side that maximises your best players, not the one that bends to protect your priciest.
It’s a ruthless league and an even more ruthless dressing room. Iraola’s big call is staring him in the face. Make it now, and Liverpool’s season might just catch fire.
